An exceptionally strong stratospheric polar vortex coincided with a record-breaking Arctic Oscillation pattern and ozone destruction during the 2019–2020 winter season.
Stratospheric dynamics
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Warming in the Antarctic Stratosphere Affects Tropical Weather
Rapid temperature spikes in the stratosphere above Antarctica can influence weather and spark cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere’s tropics.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Using Multiple Models to Improve Seasonal Forecasting
The first study to examine the ability of a suite of general circulation models to predict sudden warmings in Earth’s stratosphere highlights the potential for improving Northern Hemisphere forecasts.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Global Impacts of ENSO Reach into the Stratosphere
El Niño events have significant global impacts on weather and climate, but these reach up into the stratosphere, beyond the troposphere where most of Earth’s weather takes place.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Managing Uncertainties in Climate Engineering
Control theory and climate engineering meet in a new special issue of JGR: Atmospheres.
Posted inNews
Why Are Siberian Temperatures Plummeting While the Arctic Warms?
The answer involves the intricacies of stratospheric circulation, which, if better represented in climate models, could help predict extreme weather events in Siberia and elsewhere.
Posted inFeatures
How Sudden Stratospheric Warming Affects the Whole Atmosphere
High above Earth’s surface, air temperatures occasionally increase suddenly, producing widespread effects on weather, air chemistry, and telecommunications.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Earth-like Oscillations Detected in Saturn’s Stratosphere
By comparing Cassini observations spanning ten years, Saturn’s equatorial oscillation is shown to have similarities to Earth’s Quasi-Biennial Oscillation and Semi-Annual Oscillation.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mysterious Anomaly Interrupts Stratospheric Wind Pattern
For the first time, scientists have observed a deviation from the typical alternating pattern of easterly and westerly winds in the equatorial stratosphere.
Posted inScience Updates
Using Sounds from the Ocean to Measure Winds in the Stratosphere
Stratospheric winds deflect acoustic waves from the oceans. With the right data and the math to analyze them, these waves tell us about the weather aloft.